


The One Where Hojo Lands on Everyone's Shit List

by LiberatedPuppeteer



Series: Final Fuck You VII [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkwardness, Creepy, Explicit Language, Exploration, Explosions, Friendship/Love, Gen, Homophobic Language, Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Slow Build, Typical Final Fantasy, World Travel, etc - Freeform, friendship OT3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:50:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4976056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiberatedPuppeteer/pseuds/LiberatedPuppeteer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You would think that having the Trinity and Zack as your friends would make things easier. Nooooope.</p>
<p>Cloud has befriended the Trinity and Zack. He enjoys being in their social circle while they try to make his life easier. But when a mission to Nibelheim leads to an encounter with JENOVA without his friends there, things get a lot more complicated for Cloud Strife.</p>
<p>Basically a retelling of Final Fantasy 7 but with the Turks and our dear four SOLIDERS aiding AVALANCHE in saving Gaia. Should be fun, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The One Where Cloud Goes MIA

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Ao3~
> 
> This lil nugget was created thanks to Boomchick and her fiancee and everyone that writes seikura and FF7 stories. Final Fantasy 7 is AMAZING and I wish I had jumped onto this bandwagon sooner. 
> 
> "Final Fuck You" is going to be the name of any FF Fanfic series I write because as much as I love the games and everything about them, they frustrate the hell out of me at certain points. It's like LoZ and KH: you love it to death but there are times where you want to throw things and release a death scream that rivals anything Nomura and the other crazy creative bastards could come up with. 
> 
> The reason why I explain this is because I don't to offend anyone with the title. We live in a world where even the most politically correct person can get into some trouble so better to cover up my basis.
> 
> Anyway~ This will have gay, lesbian, straight, OT3, just about anything and everything and if you're ok with that then great, welcome aboard. If not then you know where the back button is and don't let the good lord hit you on the way out. 
> 
> This is also a AU that follows closely with the original game (I think that's what Canon Divergence means.... not too sure). I will try to keep everyone IC as much as possible but I also want to give them all a realistic touch to endear them more to you guys.
> 
> Enough of my long-winded speech, go ahead and read this and enjoy~

_**Chapter One: The One Where Cloud Goes MIA** _

* * *

 

* * *

 

 

Cloud Strife is lucky.

He dreamed of being a SOLIDER, working for SHINRA, and helping his mom move out of Nibelhiem. He dreamed of being a legend like the Silver Elite Sephiroth… but that dream had to be put on hold as the director of SOLIDER was too busy dealing with the Wutai War to recruit anyone.

But that’s not why he’s lucky.

What makes him lucky is he made a friend while serving as an Infantryman for the company, and not just any friend.

He'd become friends with Zack Fair, the newest First Class SOLIDER in SHINRA who'd then introduced him to Angeal Hewley, Genesis Rhapsodos, and The Sephiroth himself. 

They'd told him about the Degeneration that the trio had faced and that Zack had walked into.

Genesis had been sick and nothing they'd tried would work until Zack's girlfriend, Aerith, found the solution in the water of her flower garden in Sector Five's Church. 

During the end of that debacle, Zack decided to introduce his new best friend Cloud to everyone.

He initially thought that they would hate him,but they saw him as a breath of fresh air, appreciating his quiet personality and sharp wit when he threw out a comment that normally would get him in trouble with his peers in the army.

Once his dream was revealed, thanks to Zack, the generals started training him to give him a head-start for when Lazard looked for new recruits.

So in that sense, Cloud Strife was a very lucky man.

Now if only his luck could combat his motion sickness…

* * *

 

 

The mission was to go to Nibelheim and find out what was destroying SHINRA's supply trucks to the small town.

Cloud and his squad were chosen for the task since a majority of the squad was from around the area and could easily navigate the terrain.

It would normally be handed to Zack or one of the generals but they had their hands tied dealing with the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE and no one else wanted to deal with the "back country".

Cloud sat in the truck with his head tucked between his knees, fighting the urge to throw up as the road became bumpier. His comrades weren’t helping much with their excited chatter about what could manage an attack on the supply trucks continued to break through his attempts to reach his happy place to escape the constant nausea in his stomach. Some even made a few jabs about Cloud’s motion sickness and how it would be detrimental to his dreams.

In this case, he was  _very_ annoyed with his comrades. They were assholes through and through, with Jensen acting as the leader most of the time, Simmons (known as "Spooks" since he was easily scared), and Timothy being the nicer one of the group. Most of the time they talked big about their plans but it was mostly talk and this was one of those times. _  
_

His friends in SOLIDER would let their actions speak for themselves and when he had bouts like this they would often make sure that he was taken care of with a glass of water and a breathing exercise. They would share experiences where a Third or Second Class would be a bit nervous in a small space or react to strong scents thanks to their enhanced senses. Zack would probably tease him if his motion sickness was manageable.

Even Aerith would give him some herbs and act like an older sister to him.

As of right now, he would rather be in Midgar with his friends than in this moving death trap with these assholes.

The silver lining in all of this was that he had his cellphone and survival knife that he'd gotten from the generals on his birthday. Zack and his big mouth had blabbed about the way Cloud had envied his own cell phone, and like doting uncles the generals had pulled a few strings to gift cloud his own. The knife was a gift from Sephiroth because he knew how tough the missions could be.

With his friends' gifts by his side, Cloud mused that the true silver lining shining on the horizon... was that he was going to have his mom’s home cooking again.

The truck stopped and the squad leader stood up. “Listen up! We’re here on official business so do your job and don’t screw around! And no heroics, I’m looking at you Jensen!”

Cloud took in a deep breath and fastened his helmet. _Let’s just get this over with._

* * *

 

Tifa was a welcomed sight, as was his mother.

That was when Cloud learned that Angeal pulled some strings so he could rest at home, something the SHINRA allowed members of the army to do when they were stationed at their hometowns that his leader refused to do.

Also Zack called Tifa and his mom ahead of time and filled them in on his progress in Midgar.

It seemed that Cloud wasn't the only one who'd grown during his time away, as he judged when Tifa embraced him and almost crushed his lungs. When did she get so _strong_?

“Now I know you’ve missed him since he left, but can I hug my son now?”

Tifa released Cloud and his mother embraced him in a way a mother would: gentle and not making him feel inferior because someone can pick him up and he can’t.

“Have you been eating properly?” 

“Yes ma.”

“Getting enough sleep?”

“Yes ma.”

“What about your friends? Are they taking care of themselves as well?” Cloud laughed at that.

“They are, ma.”

Aolani Strife, who was now finally shorter than her son, pulled back to get a good look at him because one, she had to make sure he wasn’t lying to her and two, because he had grown since he left for Migard. “I’ve been hoping that my boys have been taking care of themselves, there’s only so much I can do here…”

Cloud rolled his eyes with a smile. That was her way of dropping a hint for them to visit her when they all had some time off.

“They wanted to come too, Ma, but they’re busy protecting the city.”

His mother nodded her head. “I understand. What about Aerith? Is she still being bothered?”

Zack and Angeal had managed to get the Turks to ease off on Aerith, they all agreed that they wouldn’t tell his mother about the Turks, she worried enough as is.

“Aerith’s fine. She wanted to say hi too. What about you, I’m sure you’ve been having trouble with the destroyed supply line.”

“Don’t you worry about me, Cloud Strife. I have been around long enough to handle myself.” Aolani Strife answered with an air of finality. “I think we should discuss things over dinner, would you like to have dinner with us Tifa?”

“As long as you’re the one that’s cooking Ms. Strife.” Tifa winked, causing Cloud and his mother to laugh.

* * *

 

 

The squad’s first objective was to check out the mansion in case there was a disgruntled SHINRA employee squatting there or some notes about the reactor breaking down.

The townsfolk opened up to Cloud, since he was from there, and regaled him with the tales of how something had waited for SHINRA supplies to come before literally throwing it down the mountain and killing off any witnesses. Everyone only saw the damage after each attack and agreed that whatever it was had a lot of power or was very big.

Once Cloud had a moment to himself, he called Zack and told him everything that he had learned and Zack simply told him to be careful. He was about to hang up when Sephiroth grabbed the phone and offered the information about the mansion, repeating Zack’s wish that he be careful.

His comrades where wary of the mansion but they ventured inside.

Cloud could hear his friends’ voices inside his head talking about the importance of an organized environment as soon as he opened the doors and saw the literal mess that was the mansion’s interior.

No one he knew was OCD but this would make anyone want to either leave or clean until nothing dirty remained.

He could hear Jensen knocking down furniture with his rifle as the others fanned out on both levels of the building, yelling “clear” with each room.

The leader stood by Cloud as he took in his surroundings. “Strife, I want you to investigate the rooms for any documents.”

“Why me, sir?”

“Because I have heard that you have a good eye and a better judgement call, unlike some of your squadmates- SIMMONS, JENSEN THIS IS NOT THE TIME NOR THE PLACE TO SET UP A SHOOTING GALLERY!”

As the leader stormed off to dealing with Simmons and Jensen before they could convince the others to goof off, Cloud started searching.

From what Sephiroth and Zack said in regards to their earlier visit, anything that contained information about Sephiroth’s origins was taken away by the Turks upon Lazard’s prompt request. Anything else though was left alone.

Cloud was careful in his search, avoiding things that looked breakable and expensive (thanks to being broke for most of his life) and leafed through every book in the room. Once the obvious places had been checked he went for the less obvious:

The various piles of trash.

He shifted through a pile in the foyer when he found a few notes shuffled into the trash, pointing to a room on the first floor.

Cloud ventured to the room and found something scribbled into the floor, leading him to another part of the house.

It turned out that each note he found was a clue to how to open a safe that Jensen was currently trying to crack by repeatedly slamming his rifle into the door.

“Jensen.”

Jensen kept at it.

“Jensen.”

Nothing changed.

Cloud waited for a few more minutes before he sought out their leader who promptly stopped Jensen (by beating him with the butt of his rifle)

He examined the intact safe and was ready to open it when Jensen opened his big mouth.

“WHO WANTS TO SEE STRIFE GET BLOWN UP BY A HIDDEN BOMB!?”

Cloud flinched. Asshole.

But it worked as the rest of the squad filed in and soon Cloud had a crowd around him. It wasn’t going to make this easier but he was going to give it a shot.

_Right 36…. **Click**_

_Left 10…. **Click**_

_Right 59…. **Click**_

_Right 96…. **Click**_

The safe door unlocked and the Squad Leader grabbed the handle. “No one fires until I give the order, Simmons relax that itchy trigger finger of yours.”

Simmons nodded and seemed to relax but the other members, including Cloud, stepped away from him given how easily spooked he was.

The leader opened the safe door and a Catcuar jumped out, (obviously angry about all the noise Jensen had caused earlier with his constant hammering) immediately reacting with an attack, throwing hundreds and thousands of needles in every direction. Simmons screamed and fired, losing his own footing as the rifle continued firing.

No one was safe as everyone got stuck with needles before the creature ran off and Simmons finally calmed down.

“Jesus Christ Simmons! You could have killed someone!” Jensen yelled as he pulled out needles out of his arm while Cloud attempted unsuccessfully to remove himself from a broken bookshelf. Timothy though, got the worst luck as he had ducked out of the way and now had a behind resembling a pin cushion.

“WHO WOULD PUT THAT THING IN THERE!?”

“Someone with a sick sense of humor.” Cloud deadpanned, earning a laugh from Jensen as the other helped him out of the broken furniture.

The squad leader didn’t seem too happy. “Catcuars can last for years without food or water, making them good guards.”

The other squad members weren’t listening anymore, instead they were inspecting Timothy whose prickly predicament was both an amusement and an issue to be solved.

“Well it looks like you’re going to help Timothy, Simmons.”

Both of them protested Jensen’s idea.

“It’s going to hurt like a bitch if spooks here does it.”

“That’s so gay!”

“Only if you make eye contact.” Jensen remarked.

There were more shouts of protest as Jensen moved in to help Timothy and Spooks while Cloud’s attention was caught by something glittering in the flickering fluorescent light on the safe’s shelf: a key.

He quickly pocketed it before the squad leader could peer through it, just in case any additional information went straight to some shady section of SHINRA. After all, the others had told him just enough about what happens behind closed doors for him to be wary of the company.

His squadmates finally helped Timothy, who seemed a bit wary of the two while the squad leader searched the safe, folding a few papers and tucking them into his pocket as discreetly as possible. Cloud caught it but then again he was used to it thanks to Zack and his quick reflex games.

The leader’s radio crackled to life with static and he left the room to answer, probably heading outside of the mansion to converse with a higher up about something that wasn’t meant for cadet ears.

“So what did you swipe, Strife?” Jensen asked and almost doubled over in laughter as Cloud produced the key with a smirk. “You’re going to get it when this is all over.”

“That is if someone finds out about it.” Cloud countered. “Do you think it unlocks anything here?”

That was when “Spooks” spoke up. “Not up here but Timothy and I found a fake wall panel that leads down somewhere. I could come with yo-“

“After the Catcuar, no. Strife’s a stubborn ass; it would take a lot to kill him.” Jensen cut in.

Cloud mentally backpedaled on Jensen's comment, since he hardly ever commented Cloud for anything. Sure there were times were he acted nice, but nope Jensen was always an ass at the end of the day. Outwardly though he didn't show much, other than an interest in this new discovery. "Where is this wall panel?”

* * *

 

Cloud wasn’t quite so sure why he had decided to venture down the spiral staircase alone. He was often quite unsure why he tended to do things alone.

He traversed Mount Nibel to check on Tifa alone, left home to go to Midgar alone…

He patted his pocket, hoping to feel the knife that rested inside for some reassurance. After all, he may have done things alone but now he was never truly alone.

The underground cave system had his instincts on high alert and he raised his rifle, ready to fire in case something attacked. He checked each corner and often looked back to make sure nothing that would have escaped his notice was following him. As a kid he had refused to venture anywhere near the mansion in general and nearly a decade later, he slowly agreed that his instincts as a kid were on point about the whole place.

There was an eerie green glow from up ahead and he quickened his pace, using his extra training to enter the room efficiently. But he had to will away the chill that threatened to crawl up his spine once he learned what he had entered.

It was a laboratory… and it was still active.

There was more notes scattered on the table, upon further inspection the notes talked about JENOVA, the “Ancients”, a “promised land”, and experiments that the author had conducted on himself. Cloud used his PHS to take photos before stashing the notes away in his pocket and heading back.

That’s when he saw a door that he missed due to the angle. It was solid and sturdy, with an old fashioned lock, one that looked like the key could open.

Cloud pulled out the key and used it on the door, feeling his stomach drop when a loud click echoed through the caves before he entered the previously locked room.

There were five coffins, four opened with corpses lying inside and a one closed in the center.

He cautiously check the opened ones before examining the last one.

“Man this is like a retro Halloween shop.”

Cloud jumped, sweeping the intruder’s legs and ready to pin them down with his knife when he realized it was Jensen.

“What are you doing!? I thought that you were going to watch out for our superior!?”

“I got bored.”

Fucking Jensen.

Cloud helped him up. “I could have killed you.”

Jensen snorted and casually walked up to the coffin. “Please, like you could actually do that. Now let’s see what’s inside…” He rubbed his hands together before yanking Cloud’s rifle away and using it to crowbar the lid off. He peered inside, his expression shifting to one of confusion.

“Hey, which Halloween creature is this supo-“ His words were cut short by an armored fist that landed square in his face, knocking him out.

Cloud pulled out his knife and lowered into a fighting stance seconds before the person that had punch Jensen launched himself at him, starting a scuffle that neither could gain the upper hand. Eventually the mysterious person escaped out of his grip, staring at the knife Cloud had pointed right at his throat.

“You’re not a normal infantryman…”

“I am, I just had some extra training thanks to SOLIDER.”

The man flinched. “Is there a Sephiroth in SOLIDER?”

“I’m not going to tell an enemy.” Cloud ground out, ready to strike. Could this mysterious figure be the cause of the disturbances in the area? Cloud thought back to the locked door and the way the room had looked undisturbed for some time and though better of it.

The man stood up, brushing dust off his ragged clothes. “My name is Vincent Valentine; I worked for SHINRA as a member of the Turks.”

Cloud relaxed and stood up as well. “Cloud Strife. I’m a friend of Sephiroth.”

Vincent remained neutral for a moment. “Does Sephiroth know about the JENOVA project?”

Before Cloud could answer, Jensen groaned and gingerly touched his now broken nose. “Vincent, I think you should come with us. You could answer a few questions.”

Again Vincent remained silent before nodding in agreement. “Fair enough.”

* * *

 

While Cloud wasn’t sorry for Jensen, his mother wasn’t on the same page.

She made him carry a large pot of some of her home-cooked stew to the inn for the rest of his squad who was packed into the one room it had opened for them and pulled out his PHS, pressing one of the speed-dials.

“Hello?”

“Angeal.” Cloud greeted warmly since he knew that Angeal would be the voice of reason out of the whole group.

“Ah Cloud, we were hoping that you would call. How is the mission?”

“It’s at a dead end. We scoured the mansion and didn’t find anything in regards to what is attacking the supply trucks, but I did find some things that you and the others would be interested in.”

“And what would those be?” Angeal gave him the same tone he gave Zack every time he mentioned that he got a present. Ever since the group had learned that Sephiroth had a soft spot for injured animals and strays, Zack always tried to sneak a baby bird or a kitten into the 49th floor but Angeal would always catch him. So naturally Angeal was always a little wary whenever someone mentioned finding things.

“Notes. Someone has been in the mansion and using the laboratory before we arrived. Most of them have something to do with Sephiroth or tie back to him.”

“That is interesting… but I have a feeling that this isn’t the only news you have for us.”

“Us?”

“You called in the middle of a meeting with Lazard, Cloud. Everyone’s here.”

There was a scuffle in the background before the phone dropped and was picked up again on Angeal’s side. “Hey Spike!”

Cloud managed to smile at the cheerful greeting from Zack. “Hey Zack, is Angeal ok with you stealing his phone?”

“He will be, but I don’t think that Lazard will be too forgiving for running on the table during his meeting.” He heard a bark of laughter from Genesis in the background at Zack admitting to it and Cloud figured that Lazard was glaring at him right now.

“Zack give Angeal his phone back.”

“Oh come on Seph, I haven’t talked to him all day.”

“It was only a few hours ago. Give him his phone back.”

“Fine. Sephiroth wants me to give Angeal his phone back-“

“I heard him, Zack.” Cloud couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he heard Zack scramble for a witty comeback but fell short. He just laughed and handed the phone off to Angeal.

“Now what is it that you wanted to tell us besides the lab?”

The smile was wiped off his face. “Yes… I found someone in a coffin not too far off from the lab.”

“You _found someone_!?”

“Yes. He punched Jensen in the face and claims to be a Turk.”

“Hold on.” Angeal said, passing his phone over to someone.

“This is Tseung of the Turks. I heard that you found someone who claims to be a Turk?”

“I did. Would you happen to know of anyone who goes by the name of Vincent Valentine?”

* * *

 

Cloud entered his house to find his mom wrapping a blanket around a freshly showered and disgruntled Vincent.

“Ma what did you do to him?” Cloud was slightly horrified at sight of Vincent tugging at his now shorter hair and figured that his mom chopped it off.

“Nothing too extreme. At least he doesn’t look like you picked him up off the streets anymore, stay put and I’ll get you both something to eat.”

Once his mother left, Cloud sat down in front of Vincent. “I’m sorry, she means well.”

“Your mother is very convincing, she would have been an excellent Turk.” Vincent merely shrugged and Cloud gathered that his mother had been stubborn about Vincent or put the fear of all the gods in him with that stare that all mothers use… or both. “So Sephiroth-“

“He knows about JENOVA and what was done to him, as do Angeal and Genesis but they’ve been dealing with it by fighting against the cells inside, or so they tell me. Seph says that some days it’s hard… He’s told me that some days JENOVA tries to ‘talk’ to him or control him. But it’s hard to relate when I don’t understand-“

“When JENOVA was found, it was supposed to be an Ancient. President Shinra is looking for the “Promised Land” where Mako energy is limitless but he needs a Cetra, an ‘Ancient’ that could lead him to the “Promised Land”. It was thought that JENOVA would lead SHINRA but it wasn’t a Cetra, but what _killed_ them. Professor Hollander and Professor Hojo created to small-scaled projects to out-do each other. Hollander injected JENOVA cells into Gillian Hewley and two received those cells from her; one through injection and other naturally.”

“Angeal and Genesis?” Cloud asked and Vincent nodded.

“Hollander was in charge of Project G. Hojo was in charge of Project S; where he would take JENOVA cells and inject them into a fetus. Sephiroth.”

“How do you know all of this?” Cloud asked, his voice merely a whisper.

“I knew Sephiroth’s mother. I tried to stop both and failed, it is my sin.”

“Well from what you’ve said, it sounds like you didn’t fail completely.” Both Vincent and Cloud were surprised as Aolani Strife handed both of them a bowl of soup. “It sounds like my boys are stronger than JENOVA. So maybe you should stop thinking of them as a sin and maybe as something more. Cloud I want you to go back to the inn and get my stonewear back when you’re done, but could you send Tifa and her father some dinner on the way?”

“Sure Ma.” Cloud replied. “You know, the Turks have been looking for you all this time. I called them to make sure you were who you said you are and they’re relieved to know that you’re alive.”

Vincent who had been eating up until that point let out a bitter laugh. “I am not alive like you are. I’m merely someone Hojo experimented on after he tried to kill me, while Lucrecia did what she could to save me.”

“Sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

Cloud stared at his dinner and shrugged. “Not sure, it just felt like the right thing to say at the moment.” He quickly finished and left, reappearing again with his duffel bag. “You can take my room tonight, I can sleep on the couch.” He pulled out three materia from his bag and pocketed them before grabbing his rifle and the bag his mother had prepared. “I hope you sleep like the dead.”

Vincent seemed to huff at that jab. “You’re interesting, Cloud Strife.”

All Cloud did in response was flash a small smile.

* * *

 

Midgar was always thrumming, even at night. One could say that the city never slept while its denizens did and the constant use of Mako could make one feel safe if they got use to the constant background noise.

That being said, Cloud wasn’t used to the silence that followed Nibelhiem after the sun vanished over the horizon after being away for so long.

He had been stationed outside of Midgar before. And there was still silence but it allowed life to play a quiet symphony at night so it wasn’t true silence.

Right now, as he walked towards the inn, he was in true silence.

It was unnatural and he was on high alert.

Tifa had been thankful for the food and tried to offer something in return but he had refused, even though something inside him was urging him to go inside.

The innkeeper glanced up at Cloud and jerked his head towards the stairs as the sounds of a heavy debate filtered in from above.

It wasn’t as heavy as Genesis’ discussions about LOVELESS with anyone who tried to tell him that it was “just a poem”, but it was a close second.

Once Cloud arrived at the rooms his squad resided in, they greeted him with a collective shout and invitations to sit and join in.

“Cloud we could use a local’s opinion. Who do you think the mountain guide would take out on a date? Me or Spooks?” Jensen asked as Cloud piled up his mother’s dishes.

Cloud stopped, glanced at both, and snorted. “Neither. You’re an ass Jensen and Spooks would wet himself.”

“Ah c’mon. You’re not giving me enough credit. I could put her in her place no problem and then she would go out with me.”

“Because you’re a stud?” Cloud finished for Jensen. “No, Tifa would probably put you in _your place_ by the time she was through with you.”

“She’s not that strong! I could beat her no problem!”

Cloud thought back to when she nearly collapsed his lung just with a hug and how she explained that Zangan had been teaching her self-defense. He shook his head and returned to collecting things. “She would beat you in no time.”

Simmons and Timothy laughed while Jensen huffed.

“I think I might send in a good word for her back at Midgar. The Turks wouldn’t find having someone like her around.” Cloud added.

“Women aren’t supposed to do stuff like that. They belong in the house, cooking and raising the kids.” Jensen retorted.

Cloud wanted to roll his eyes at the traditional and close minded thinking that came from this area. “I think that women have just as much opportunity in the world as men do and have the ability to choose for themselves in regards to what they want to do.”

“You’re such a momma’s boy! All you care about is getting your mom out of here! Well you know what I think, I think you’re a-“

A loud commotion just outside the inn cut the conversation off as all them ran towards the windows for a glimpse at the source.

“What do you think that was?”

“Not sure. Where’s Leader?”

“He hasn’t come back from patrolling the roads leading into town.”

“Well what should we do?”

“What do you _think_ we should do? I think we should check it out!”

“Jensen wait! He said no heroics!”

But Jensen had already left with his rifle in hand. So Timothy and Simmons grabbed theirs and followed close behind.

Something inside of Cloud was screaming at him to stay inside or to go home and stay there until morning. But he shook it off and went after his squad.

They didn’t go far and Cloud found them just outside the inn, staring at the water tower where the leader was, run through by what looked like Masamune.

Simmons gasped and stuttered as they faced what looked like Sephiroth. “G-General? What are you doing here!?”

Whoever it was didn’t turn and pinned their leader’s body to the water tower.

Cloud felt that something was wrong. His instincts were screaming for him to run, to grab Vincent, Tifa, and his mother and get away from Nibelheim. He felt it down in his bones that this person was too _alien_ and that he needed to run.

In response, being the second most stubborn person in town beside his mother, he pointed his rifle and fired, landing a solid hit the intruder’s back.

The person let loose an ear shattering scream as it twisted and turned in an inhuman manner, transforming into something other than Sephiroth.

Simmons screamed and emptied his rifle into the creature as the townspeople came out of their houses.

Cloud was ready to scream at the civilians to run when the creature fired a laser at his squad. The beam trailed through the local item shop and the owner’s truck, causing an explosion that started to engulf the town in flames. He and Jensen managed to duck out of the laser’s path. But Simmons and Timothy did not.

The creature transformed into an imitation of Sephiroth again, pulling the sword out of their leader and the water tower before it took off towards the reactor on the mountain.

Jensen let out a battle cry and followed the creature while Cloud headed towards some of the screams that filtered through the chaos.

People were scrambling away from the burning buildings and Cloud spotted his mom, staring at their burning house with Vincent.

“Ma!” He ran to her just as she fell to her knees. “Ma are you alright!?”

His mother embraced him when he lowered himself to her level and sobbed. “Oh Cloud, I’m so glad that you’re alright.”

“Ma, it isn’t safe here. You need to leave before things get worse.” Cloud warned, glancing at Vincent. “Can you take her and the others to safety?”

“What will you do?”

“I’m going after that thing.” Cloud answered Vincent’s question, who simply nodded and helped Aolani Strife to her feet.

“Cloud you can’t go! It’s too dangerous!” She protested, gripping his arms to prevent him from leaving. “You’ll be killed!”

Cloud offered her a small and somber smile as he pushed her away. “It’ll be worse if I do nothing and that thing comes back. Besides I’m too stubborn to die so easily.”

Ms. Strife’s face hardened. “You better come back.”

Cloud nodded and handed his PHS to Vincent. “Press one of the speed dials when everyone is at a safe distance and help should come within a few days.”

“I’m coming with you.” Tifa offered. “I can help you get up the mountain.”

Cloud shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Well that’s too bad because I’m not leaving you behind to fight that thing.” Tifa countered, folding her arms.

Cloud thought about it and sighed, nodding at her since she wasn’t going to budge on this. “We better get moving.” He took one last look at his mom and the survivors of the town before taking off with Tifa.

* * *

 

They found what was left of Jensen’s body halfway up the mountain and Tifa looked like she was going to retch so Cloud led her away from the remains. It cost them a few precious minutes but Tifa needed it.

When they finally reached the top of the mountain, Cloud had a foreboding feeling that this was going to be the last time they would be together for a while. So he embraced Tifa and held her for as long as he could. “I want to thank you for being my friend and supporting my dream.”

Tifa blinked in surprise. “You’re making it sound like this is goodbye.”

“I’m not trying to do that, but something’s telling me that something bad is going to happen and I want to say what I’ve always wanted to say when we were kids.”

Tifa pulled him away and the two stared at each other, trying to figure out what could be said to lighten the mood despite standing at the top of a cold mountain right before they were going to face a monster.

“Dilly dally, shilly shally.”

“Uh, what?”

She smiled as she repeated. “Dilly dally, shilly shally. Don’t worry about it, even if something goes wrong in there we’ll see each other before you know it.” She tweaked his nose and winked when he laughed at the action.

“Right. Are you ready?”

Tifa nodded and both of them headed inside the reactor.

Inside they found the creature banging on a door that was above several glowing tubes in its natural form, the imitation sword lying on the floor forgotten.

Cloud was ready to pull the trigger on his rifle when Tifa grabbed the sword and charged at the monster awkwardly holding a weapon that was twice her size. “Tifa wait!”

The monster stopped and cast something at her that stopped her in her tracks. It transformed again and delivering a fatal blow that launched her down the steps, sword clattering to the ground in front of it. Picking up the blade, it used the sword to cut through the door and tossed it aside.

Cloud discarded his rifle and ran to Tifa’s side, pulling out one of the three materia he had in his pocket.

It was a Revive Materia that Genesis had given him for emergencies after he taught him how to use the coalesced mako, and while Cloud hadn’t mastered any of the orbs yet, he certainly had enough energy to use them properly.

Remembering Genesis’ advice, he concentrated and cast Life on his friend, letting loose a sigh of relief as life came back to Tifa’s eyes. He left the orb next to her as he bandaged her wound, using his knife to cut pieces of his own uniform off to use for the bandages. The last thing he did before leaving her was placing his knife in her hands, just in case.

* * *

 

He wasn’t used to wielding a sword as long as Masamune, but with his ammo depleted and no other weapon available, he gripped the handle tighter and breathed.  He needed to end this nightmare.

The monster had ripped a human shaped covering off of a tube and was busy examining the glass prison that held the remains of a gray skinned woman inside.

It was frighteningly similar in looks to Sephiroth but there was no warmth or light inside its red eye. It was cold and sent chills through his body every time he glanced at it.

Cloud steeled himself before charging, the blade was sharp, easily stabbing though both the creature and the woman inside the tube in one swift blow. He watched it slump forward before running back to Tifa, who was struggling to stay alive with the bleeding wound soaking the bandages. “Just hold on Tifa, you’re going to be ok.” He pulled out his Restore Materia and poured his own energy into it while both of them held it.

Tifa seemed to gain some color back as she opened her eyes. “C-Cloud?”

Cloud shushed her. “Save your strength. I’m going to get you out of here and back to town, ok?”

She didn’t respond but suddenly looked frightened seconds before Cloud felt a hand pull him away by his hair and throw him back into the room with the alien. It was followed by a wave of agony as he felt a blade run through his chest.

The creature had once again used his friend’s form and ran the sword through him, lifting him off the ground and snarling at him, twisting Sephiroth’s face into something truly ugly.

Cloud gripped the blade, forcing himself up the blade and as far away from the monster as he could. He searched for any strength reserves deep inside himself to fight back in any way and end this once and for all.

The creature looked surprised as Cloud leaned back, placing himself on solid ground again and lifting the creature up. At that moment, the cuts on his hands and the blood soaking his shirt had no importance as he used his entire body to throw the monster and its weapon away.

It hit a wall and its form fluctuating, as electricity surged through it before vanishing from sight, hopefully hitting the pool of Mako below.

Cloud pulled out the last of his materia, hoping that it was the Restore he used on Tifa but frowned at the red color and warmth radiating from it. It was brief though as the warmth gave him some comfort that he had not faced this alone.

**_“Cloud? Cloud Strife? Such a curious creature…”_ **

Cloud glanced behind at the woman and noticed that she was staring right at him, her eye glowing.

**_“You must be so tired from fighting… It’s alright. Free me from this prison and I will make sure that you’re never in pain again.”_ **

Cloud felt his blood freeze at the woman seemed to glow, cracking the glass that held it inside. He held up the materia and casted a Fira at it, shattering the glass and watched as the body fell to the floor in a pool of Mako.

He dropped the materia and walked back towards Tifa, fighting against the pain and trying to stay awake long enough to find the Restore.

He managed to get close to Tifa before his strength faded and he fell to the floor, his consciousness fading into the darkness

* * *

 

Vincent and Zangan managed to navigate the mountain path and finally arrived at the reactor just as the first rays of the morning sun filtered through the peaks of the mountains.

They had found Jensen and did their best to arrange him and the other three a proper burial once the confusion was over. Vincent had held off on calling until they could find Cloud and Tifa, Aolani Strife insisting that the townspeople were tough enough to handle the cold and wild animals.

Inside they found Tifa, injured but stable, bandaged up and holding onto a Restore Materia and a knife while a Revive lay close by in a pool of blood.

Zangan gingerly picked her up while Vincent studied the damage surrounding them when Tifa opened her eyes.

“Cloud… T-they took Cloud…” Was all she managed before closing her eyes, falling back into unconsciousness.

It was then did Vincent pull out the PHS and pressed a speed-dial.

* * *

 

“The wandering soul knows no rest.”

“Are you quoting LOVELESS again?”

“Well it seems to fit the youngest of us here.”

“HEY!”

At Shinra Tower, Angeal and Genesis laughed at Zack’s reaction as he sputtered during his squats.

They, along with Sephiroth had been called to stop another AVALANCHE attack and they were waiting for Sephiroth to gather the details from Lazard before moving out. The playful banter was a mere a way to ease the tension before any of fighting began.

The doors opened and Sephiroth walked towards them, wearing a worried and nearly grave expression that stopped the laughter.

“Sephiroth? What’s wrong?” Zack asked.

Sephiroth stared at each of them for a solid minute, then at the PHS he was trying hard not to crush before facing his friends again. “Nibelheim was burned to the ground and Cloud Strife is missing.”


	2. The One Where SOLIDER Gives the Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack and the Trinity aren't going to sit on their thumbs while Cloud is missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Sorry for the long absence, I had a rough year. In short? Six family members died and I learned that I have a half uncle. I needed time. 
> 
> But I'm back with the second chapter, that's unbeta'd and probably lackluster at best but anyway thanks for sticking around.

General Sephiroth wasn’t called the “Demon of Wutai” for absolutely nothing. Out on the field he was efficient, ruthless, and a downright terror to those that opposed him. He did what he was trained to do, and his brilliance on the battlefield would often transfer over to conversations and wit with his friends.

There wasn’t a lot of people that were brave enough to talk to him _and_ match his wit. Angeal tended to shy away from arguments due to his pacifist nature, Genesis would often quote LOVELESS or another play/poem, and Zack was too naïve to ever truly understand the verbal battles that he tried to instigate.

Cloud was both. At first he was in absolute awe once they met, but afterwards the cadet showcased a tongue that could match his in the verbal arena. But he was nice enough to still talk to him once the witty banter had ceased.

So Sephiroth was grateful to Zack for bringing in an intelligent person into their small circle, even if the other infantryman prodded at his looks.

Which is why Sephiroth was currently marching down the halls of the 66th floor, _livid_ and his hand itching to draw Masamune, heading to the meeting room where President Shinra and Heidegger where discussing Nibelheim.

After Vincent called, the Turks arrived on the scene to find that half of the survivors were poisoned and suffering from burns while the other half was too traumatized to reveal much.  Photos were taken showing the bodies of the squad, Cloud’s squad, and the collateral damage. They even personally interviewed Tifa Lockhart, who had seen the one behind this attack. Despite all of this Cloud was still missing.

And now, _now_ , Heidegger had decided that his lost solider was too much effort to bother looking for and that Nibelheim had been a waste of resources. This caused ire to the Silver Elite and he was ready to “raise hell” as Genesis and Zack dubbed it.

Unfortunately for him, Angeal confiscated Masamune before he ventured up.

As he closed in on the meeting, he spotted Rufus and Lazard blocking his way.

**_Big mistake._ **

“Out of my way.” Sephiroth warned.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that, for you see if you barge into that meeting, your life is going to get much harder. We’re here to offer you something to walk away from this.” Rufus supplied, not showing weakness when Sephiroth broke through their line.

“Not interested.”

“Even if that means we can help you find Strife?”

That got the General’s attention as he stopped dead in his tracks. “I’m listening.”

This time Lazard spoke up. “It would be best if we moved this down to my office, come on.”

Sephiroth looked at the door that served as the final barrier to his goal and turned away, following both Rufus and Lazard. After all, if this was going to get him closer to learning about Cloud’s location, the better.

\---

Sephiroth wasn’t expecting the Turks to show up. Maybe a few members, but it seemed like Rufus was pulling all the key players into this meeting, which meant that he was thinking big.

And judging by the reactions the Turks had when a unfamiliar Turk walked in, it seemed that Vincent Valentine was going to be involved as well.

Once the players had been gathered, Lazard took his place at his desk. He glanced at Rufus, who nodded; a signal for him to go ahead. “As you know, there was an incident in Nibelheim that had heavy casualties and one missing solider. Normally SHINRA would pour some effort into clean up to protect their image, but it isn’t the case with Nibelheim. They’ve pulled everything and deny any involvement with the incident so in order to find out what happened, we’re breaking away from SHINRA.”

“’Bout time.” Reno casually added.

“Does this mean we’re going to save Cloud!?” Zack seemed ready to grab his sword and storm wherever Cloud was being held and Sephiroth smiled a bit at his eagerness.

“In due time.” Lazard answered. “SHINRA is keeping a close watch and both groups given Strife’s involvement with us. We need to avoid suspicion for as long as possible.”

Zack grit his teeth and bolted, getting his hand on the door when Angeal yanked him back his top. “Let me go, Angeal! Cloud needs help!”

“You’re not going to help anyone if you head out there and get shot! We’re SOILDERS, not gods.” Angeal protested, forcing Zack back down in his seat.

Genesis was staring at both Lazard and Rufus, narrowing his eyes in distrust. “Why are you helping us now? You have nothing to profit from this venture, Shinra.”

“Actually I do. You see, I just learned through the Turks that Lazard and I are half-brothers, so the fat bastard is a hypocrite. This company has been his pet project, with his talk of the ‘Promised Land’ and Neo-Midgar, and I would like to see it all crumble around him. Then I can rebuild and make SHINRA into a real energy business.” Rufus answered, causing Genesis to raise his eyebrows.

“Why are the Turks in on this?” Zack piped up.

“That’s easy: We owe Chocobutt a favor for bringing Vincent back to us. Saving his skin is us repaying the favor.” Reno answered, ignoring the questionable gazes when he used “Chocobutt” to refer to Cloud. “I like the guy ok? He gave me coffee in the mornings.”

Sephiroth hummed with a knowing smile. It seemed like Cloud could befriend just about anyone.

Angeal leaned forward, his gaze focused on Rfus and Lazard. “So what’s our next move?”

“That’s easy: fake your deaths.”

“Pardon?”

“Go about your jobs in SOLIDER, but during a random mission one of you has to fake your death. You’ll be free of SHINRA at that point and assume a fake identity here in Midgar, helping AVALANCHE disable the reactors. Only one of you should ‘die’ otherwise SHINRA will become suspicious if all of you die on a mission at the same time. Once there’s only one left, we will bomb floors 49 to 51 and blame it on a dead employee that the Turks have wiped from the record so it looks like they’re still employed here. Once all four of you are considered deceased, you can search for Cloud with any information that the Turks have uncovered.”

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the plan, noticing that Genesis had a spark in his eyes that was usually reserved for anything dramatic. Of course the actor and LOVELESS zealot would love the plan or any plan really that involved drama and explosions. “Director Lazard, it sounds like this plan is going to take some time. How long do you think Cloud has?”

Vincent cleared his throat, answering for Lazard. “The most likely scenario is Professor Hojo has Cloud. If that is the case, then we have some time before Hojo breaks him and I can assure you that we will retrieve him before that happens.”

“And how can you be so sure that Hojo is behind this?”

Vincent made direct eye contact with Sephiroth. “Because he shot me and conducted experiments on me as I lay dying in his lab in Nibelheim all because I advised against using you and your mother as Guinea pigs.”

The silence that followed was thick enough to slice through with the Buster Sword.

 Zack laughed, sounding nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck before he spoke up. “There’s no need to fight… We’re all in this for Cloud right?”

That caused both Vincent and Sephiroth to back down from the silent contest they had.

After all, this was for Cloud.

\---

There were a few more players that the four were introduced to: Reeve Tuesti, Barret Wallace, and Tifa Lockhart.

Reeve was in charge of Urban Development, but Rufus called him a “bleeding heart” for his concern for everyone outside of SHINRA. Angeal called it noble and defended Reeve who seemed grateful to have someone in his corner.

Barret was the new leader of AVALANCHE, and he seemed to make the fight against SHINRA personal. Once he told how Scarlet destroyed his town (Rufus called her a “sadistic bitch”) his reasons was more understandable. But half the time, Zack was impressed with the fact that he had a machine gun for a hand. Sephiroth was more impressed on how he was able to separate the fight with raising his adoptive daughter Marlene.

Tifa… Tifa was interesting. She was barely eighteen and ran a bar in the slums of Seventh Heaven. But then again maybe the interesting part came from when she knocked Reno out with a fire extinguisher when they entered the bar and was ready to fight them all off.

Genesis already sent her praises and Seph simply wished she had hit Rufus instead of Reno. It would have been funnier to see the President’s son with a broken nose.

He actually got his wish when Rufus introduced himself and Tifa punched him. It was as funny as he hoped it would be.

Rufus and Lazard explained that AVALANCHE would still fight Shinra but instead of bombing the reactors and causing more damage, as Reeve stated, they would ‘reroute’ the energy created in the reactors to the slums.

President Shinra hated the slums and would try to bomb his own reactors and place the blame on the rebel group but deprive both the plates and the slums of energy. Thus backfiring on him and speeding up the decline of SHINRA.

Barret had asked Rufus what he had in mind after SHINRA was destroyed. Rufus answered that he would create a company similar to SHINRA but using renewable resources instead of Mako since “it was too much work and too much money”. This calmed Barret down when Rufus offered funding and revealed to Sephiroth that basically this kid was a lazy little shit.

Once the planning was done, the four were huddled together by Genesis in order to discuss their “deaths”. “Zack you need to die first.”

Zack blinked, not being able to say anything at first and resembled a gaping fish as he mentally scrambled for a proper rebuttal. But all he could get out what: “Why?”

“Because you’re the one that will blow the whole operation.” Genesis answered. “You’ll most likely run out of SHINRA and try to save Cloud on your own. This will attract the executives’ attention and we’ll be stuck in the tower for Gods who knows when and you don’t want that do you?”

Sephiroth wanted to roll his eyes, because as much as he valued Genesis’ friendship… he was laying the act on rather thick, even for the Puppy.

But sure enough Zack had the gall to look ashamed, as if he had actually been thinking about doing that. “Yeah, you’re right. So how do I need to ‘die’?” He even used his hands to make air quotations when he asked that question.

“I was thinking of a heroic final stand ag-“

“Why don’t you let yourself get shot?” Sephiroth added his input, cutting Genesis from a dramatic retelling of LOVELESS and maybe a few readings. “Face a large group, wipe out most of them and get shot.”

Genesis audibly shut his mouth, not too happy from being cut off while Zack thought about it.

“Can I make it heroic?”

Sephiroth just shrugged. After all it wasn’t his own death he was planning at the moment.

“Alright! That’s how I’m going to kill myself!” Zack pronounced and the four heard an old woman clear her throat and turned around to see her send them a warning glance before shuffling off.

“Next time you might want to think about where we’re at before making claims like that Zack.” Angeal ruffled Zack’s spikes even though he was chewing him out for pissing off a random old lady.

“Sorry. It’s exciting… we’re actually on our way to save Cloud.”

“I would say that in the long run, this is our chance to break away from SHINRA and be free.” Genesis added.

Sephiroth had to smile at that thought. _Freedom from SHINRA…_

If Cloud wasn’t in trouble, he would have thanked him for this chance.

\---

They stuck with the plan and Zack was the first to go.

The Turks had managed to put together an elaborate mission where he “faced” close to a thousand enemies just outside the Midgar Wasteland, and he died in a spectacular fashion.

It probably helped that the day he did it was raining and added to the dramatics of it all.

Genesis delivered the message to Lazard and the higher ups in his own dramatic flair and the president bought it. It was followed by the trio “morning” him when in reality they were checking up on him at Aerith’s house.

She didn’t mind the grand scheme but her mother was busy chewing him out for scaring her. She was expecting grandkids and a dead boyfriend, even a not-so-dead one wasn’t in her plans.

When they asked him about his new identity as Zachary Thatch from Rocket Town and who supplied him with such realistic paperwork, he only laughed and added a cryptic “you’ll see”.

Genesis kept up the morning well into the six-month period, making sure no one suspected anything and actually started to forget Zack Fair.

A year after that, Angeal took his turn and “died”.

His death consisted of an old fashioned duel with a stranger that collected unique swords. Thankfully the Turks were there to give the man a copy of the Buster Sword if he played along because there was no way in any form of afterlife that Angeal was going to hand his sword to someone like that.

He ended up giving it to Zack who lit up and treated it like china.

As this unfolded the Turks stuck to their part and collected information on what had happened in Nibelheim.

It was Vincent who managed to pull through with the Intel and found that Hojo had been taking frequent trips to what remained of the mountain town. He found out that the mansion had been rebuilt and the caves underneath had recently been expanded.

In his words: “the son of a bitch was hiding something”.

Sephiroth never liked the man, but now he wanted to run Masamune through him and Octaslash him into oblivion. But as the Silver General, he couldn’t do much inside SHINRA headquarters.

Two years after Zack “died” Genesis approached him. “Are you ready to leave this place behind?”

It was a loaded question, and until Cloud vanished he never gave it much thought. He had lived within company parameters for his entire life… but now that they sweep his friend’s existence under the rug and treated him like property, he couldn’t wait to get out.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Remember to sell it. We need Hojo buying this as well.”

He was well aware of that and he’d give SHINRA one hell of a performance. He was certain of that.

\---

It was around three in the morning when they decided to start the performance. Sephiroth had been acting unstable until now, destroying the virtual training rooms and displaying a thousand-yard stare. Sometimes he would start to mumble about the ‘Promised Land’ in the labs to unsettle the scientists.

He had also been testing the wing that appeared soon after he learned about his origins, making sure that he could be stable enough for the fight but the practice flights had been done during the more recent blackouts to avoid an early spectacle.

AVALANCHE had been brilliant with their sabotage events, diverting the power evenly between the upper and lower parts of Midgar. In addition, they had created small cracks that would allow the Mako to flow out and be absorbed back into the earth. While in large quantities it would cause mutations and monsters to appear, but in a steady trickle it would do almost nothing. In a few years maybe life would return to the wasteland.

But their most brilliant move was revealing all the dirty secrets the science department had locked up. Everyone now knew about SOLIDER and the possible mutations that abounded from the constant experimentation.

So in short, Sephiroth would be painted as a victim rather than a villain when the time came.

His performance came to a climax as he floated above the SHINRA tower, Masamune shining in the moonlight. He let out a maniacal laugh and echoed through the streets.

“Inferior dullards, you’ve taken this planet from those that were greater, smarter… more evolved than you. I have been chosen to lead the planet with orders to take it from you stupid people for the Cetra. Only death awaits you all, but do not fear. For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born.” Sephiroth raised his blade skyward and swung it down, only for a red blade to block it, creating sparks that lit up the sky.

The owner of the red blade, Genesis, grit his teeth as he pushed Masamune away. Feathers floated down from his own wing, touching down on the streets.

“Sephiroth, this ends here. My soul corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of my journey in my own salvation…” Genesis pointed his blade at Sephiroth, lit by in runes and covered in flames. “And your eternal slumber. This world needs a new hero.”

Sephiroth raised his blade and the two clashed for all of Midgar and SHINRA to see.

It was dramatic to say the least. Each time metal met metal, sparks lit up the sky and both fighters gave flowery speeches (Genesis could see Sephiroth cringe with each one).

At the very least they were destroying pieces of SHINRA headquarters.

Towards the end of the fight, they made it seem like it was a stalemate, until Genesis used a Summon and a phoenix appeared, illuminated by the first rays of the sun.

Sephiroth held back the jab that was bubbling to the surface and relaxed as the phoenix’s attack hit him dead on, sending him through a crack through the plate.

Genesis was now Midgar’s new hero.

\---

He opened his eyes to see Zack and Aerith smiling at him.

“Welcome to the Slums, Seph!”

Sephiroth looked at his surroundings and realized that he had fallen into the church in Sector 5. He sat up and noticed that he had landed in Aerith’s flowers, given how he smelled like the earth and there were crushed flowers from where he had been laying. “My apologies Ms. Gainsborough.”

Aerith waved it off and offered a sheet large enough to cover him. “Put this on so no one can see you.” She offered the article of fabric after Zack helped him up.

As they walked through the slums, Sephiroth noticed the lack of basics that the plate had in abundance: electricity, clean water, and sturdy materials to build homes out of. The people were literally using sheets of metal and leftover trailers to make their homes.

“It’s not the best, but I’m hoping that our efforts will do something to improve their lives once SHINRA’s out of the picture.” Zack explained. “We have to deal with a few crooks down here before any real changes can be made?”

“Ms. Gain-“

“Call me Aerith.”

“Right, Aerith. I don’t mean to intrude but you don’t live in _this_ do you?”

Aerith answered this by smacking him in the arm. “I live in a _real house_ , thank you.” But she wore a grin as she answered, causing Sephiroth to think that she wasn’t completely offended.

“I don’t think that her mom will allow you to stay. Her patience is stretched enough as is with me there…” Zack trailed off as the group encountered some armed men blocking Sector Seven’s entrance.

“What business do you have in Sector Seven?”

Zack fumbled for an answer, glancing at Aerith until Sephiroth started to violently cough, causing the guards to back off and allow them to pass.

“Seph are you ok?”

Sephiroth stopped coughing, clearing his throat and straightening his makeshift cloak. “I’m fine. Shall we continue?”

Zack grinned. “Gen is going to kill you once he learns you can act.”

“He already does but I appreciate your concern. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Sephiroth retorted, being led by Aerith as Zack caught up to them.

\---

Seventh Heaven was closed to the public when they arrived but Tifa ushered them inside where the Turks were waiting for the General.

Once he relinquished Masamune to Tifa, the Turks loaded him into a truck and drove to Kalm. The drive was far from comfortable for him as Reno threw random things on top of him as he laid in the bed of the truck and proved to be one of the worst chauffeurs in Sephiroth’s average sized life. Rude had offered to stay behind to cover for their departure but subtle signs revealed that he had a crush on Miss Lockhart and Reno hadn’t caught on yet.

More power to him.

Once in Kalm, Tesung was waiting to bring Sephiroth inside a modest shop where Aolani Strife had been waiting.

“So you’re Sephiroth. My son wouldn’t shut up about you before he joined SHINRA and now I can see why. I’m Aolani Strife and I’m here to give you a new identity.” The blonde woman winked at him and he glanced at Tesung, hoping for an explanation.

“Ms. Strife here went by a different name before the Wutai War and helped out SHINRA deserters carve out a new life. Our organization searched for her but she was a difficult target, vanishing during Wutai.”

“I simply retired early, young man. Once I had Cloud and his father left me, I chose the more rewarding life of motherhood.” Aolani Strife answered, armed with hair dye and a fresh set of clothes. “I’m only helping to get my son back so I’m only going to say this once: Fail at bringing him back in one piece and no one will ever find your bodies. Now hold still for me…”

A half hour later, Sephiroth walked out wearing high quality clothes and a loose hat that held his temporarily dyed black hair, armed with papers showcasing his new identity as Seth Crescent.

Tesung pinned him with a curious look, raising an eyebrow as the gears started to shift in his mind.

Sephiroth glanced back at Ms. Strife who seemed proud of her work. “Are you sure this is enough?”

The older woman nodded, pushing him out of her shop. “No one is going to give you a close inspection so you should be fine. Be careful out there.” She sent him off with a knowing smile that bewildered him and the Turk as they drove back to Midgar.  “That boy is interesting, just like you said.”

Vincent, hiding in a darkened corner of Strife’s new home until now, approached. “He reminds me of his mother. I’m glad that Cloud was telling the truth about him fighting against JENOVA.”

“My son hardly lies… the two of them are kindred spirits in a way. I do hope that you will look after our boys, it would be a shame to lose them.”

Vincent blinked in confusion. _Our_? “Excuse me?”

“I know about the other three, but Sephiroth’s parents were a mystery until now. But you can keep your secrets, and I’ll keep mine.” Ms. Strife walked back into her abode with a cryptic smile.

Vincent stared at the closed front door. “We should have recruited her when we had the chance.”

\---

Sephiroth was honestly surprised just how little attention he was getting now that his hair and clothes changed.

People literally bumped into him not didn’t react unless he said anything and even then they acted like he was a “regular joe”. And the clothes… while they were high quality it felt rather strange to be donning something so relaxed. The Turks wouldn’t even let him wear his coat.

In some ways he missed wearing it.

Vincent walked with him, as silent and stoic as ever now sporting a gauntlet to cover his mangled arm. He had shown them what his old one looked like and Sephiroth was secretly glad that Zack lost it: he worried how the man actually held things without hurting himself on all those points. This one seemed more “friendly” and didn’t give off the illusion that the Turk had claws.

“You’re staring.”

Sephiroth stopped alongside Vincent in Wall Market and glanced at the ground for a second. “My apologies.”

Vincent hummed, sounding like he was agreeing. “What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t mean to pry but… what was my mother like? Not JENOVA, but Lucerica.”

Vincent sighed, his covered hand twitching. “She was beautiful, and intelligent. But she was kind as well, she took everything to heart. I owe her for saving my life when Hojo shot me but…”

“You regret not stopping him.”

“Exactly. He may be brilliant, but he’s never thought about the consequences of his own actions even though he claims the exact opposite because he’s a scientist. I doubt he even loved your mother and my sin lies with not being able to stop him from harming you and her. How long have you been curious about her?”

“For a while now. JENOVA may have supplied her cells to my creation but I know it takes more than that to create a life.”

“You remind me of her.”

Before Sephiroth could ask, Vincent handed him Cloud’s survival knife. “This was found at the reactor. Given the level of craftsmanship, I figured you would have bought it for him since you focus on practicality. You should hang on to it to help you focus on the task at hand, then you can search for answers after.”

Once they arrived at Sector Seven, Vincent left for the plate leaving Sephiroth to navigate the crowds himself, which given that he was pretty much the tallest guy there, was easy to do. Height equaled to seeing over the crowd.

So the trip to Seventh Heaven was uneventful, but he arrived just as Barret fired at the television that SHINRA had provided the slum while his friends cheered him on. While it was a nice display of power, it was rather pointless and was drawing attention to the group in essence. It just wasn’t professional.

AVALANCHE has talent, from what he saw. But it was still raw and each attempt to win others over to their cause did very little since they were using their own emotional scars from SHINRA as momentum.

They needed training.

Sephiroth ventured inside the bar and saw Angeal listening to Biggs and Jesse vent about their own problems with the company. Angeal made eye contact with him and nodded, the determined look on his face said it all.

They would train the members of AVALANCHE.

\---

Tifa had only heard stories about Sephiroth from Cloud, and even then she took them with a grain of salt since Cloud told each one with figurative stars in his eyes. So she wasn’t so surprised when he was first brought into her bar, after all he was as powerful and imposing as Cloud had made him out to be.

What surprised her was when he came back, in casual clothes and looking absolutely normal, and approached her like a shy animal. “Ms. Lockhart, may I have a word with you?”

She figured that he would be more… arrogant maybe since he was such an important figure in the company. But he was very polite and maybe a bit rusty in his social skills, so she nodded and told Marlene to stay out of trouble, not missing how Sephiroth was very concerned about a child serving drinks.

They distanced themselves from the rowdy crowd and she placed her hands on her hips. “So what do you want?”

“Forgive me for any rudeness but I must be frank about this: your group is inexperienced and it’s showing.”

So the great general thought AVALANCHE sucked, huh?

“I only say this because Mr. Wallace destroyed the large television and announced his goals for the company out in the open.”

Oh.

“So what do you want to do about it?”

“If it’s alright with you, I would like to place you as the second in command of the group, given that you’re not as brash as Mr. Wallace. In addition, I would like to train you and help you hone your skills in combat.”

“That’s… going to be kind of tough since I don’t fight with a sword.”

“I understand, but part of education at SOLIDER was hand to hand combat so I can provide you with new material to work with. But I shall get Rude to assist since hand to hand combat is his main focus in battle. Of course this all based upon your consent.”

Tifa shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t see why not?” But Sephiroth didn’t move and looked a bit stiff, not making eye contact with her. “That means ‘yes’.”

“I see. I shall contact the Turks then.” And with that, Sephiroth left the bar with his phone in hand.

Cloud never mentioned to her that the Silver Elite was socially awkward.

\---

Genesis finally got what he had always wanted: to become the hero.

Right after the staged fight he landed right outside SHINRA tower just as the sun started rising to a crowd of awestruck citizens that suddenly let out a thunderous cheer. Really he couldn’t have planned that part any better.

But once the celebrations were said and done, things didn’t go so well.

Lazard got fired due to the extensive collateral damage Sephiroth and Genesis caused during their fight, place SOLIDER under the care of both Hojo and Heidegger. Whoever remained was extensively looked at and tested by Hojo for something he never told anyone about. Heidegger had them trained until they couldn’t get back up, which was when he would send them to Hojo.

So far no one who went there hasn’t been seen again.

Rufus noticed the rapidly dwindling numbers in the program and spoke up, which resulted in _him_ getting fired by his own father. Reeve was placed on probation for having been in the same room.

Genesis was placed under house arrest, which was set for a year until the people of Midgar started riots, demanding that the hero that saved them should be free. His sentence was reduced to six weeks.

During that time he managed to smuggle out all the weapons and materia that he and the other three used frequently with Vincent. He also got the Turk to give Angeal his bonsai tree before Heidegger ordered a search in the empty rooms.

Now he was battling boredom and paranoia thanks to the scientist and general’s movements and actions. He had to be very careful when Reno showed up (who was annoyed that Rude was busy training Tifa, why he wasn’t quite so sure) and they carefully placed explosives in the lab and SOLIDER floors.

When he was left alone, he practiced for his own death so the security cameras had something to record.

The files took the most time and having to be careful when Hojo was searching for something almost doubled the time. It seemed that the ideal time was when the rest of the city was sleeping.

But it wasn’t so bad, Reno was certainly interesting company. It was rather nice to have a fellow pyromaniac to talk to when they were literally burning files and stashing any away that had to do with JENOVA. They needed answers after all.

Soon the six weeks had passed and Reno showed him a secret escape route that Rufus had built into the tower in case of emergencies.

“We already have your new ID waiting, all you need to do is make it out of the city. Vincent can take you to where we think Cloud is being held at and the rest is up to you guys. Good luck.” He said handing Genesis his new identity.

Once he was gone, Genesis simply bowed to the cameras that were now working again… and pressed the button behind his back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently looking for a Beta for this fanfic. 
> 
> Also chapter three will be worked on again since things have calmed down. Thanks for putting up with the absence.

**Author's Note:**

> Well that's the end of Chapter 1. I hope I didn't mess it up too bad.
> 
> I always thought JENOVA had all this potential and this power given what we learned about it in the game and it was a shame that we didn't see it as an active participant. True Sephiroth was a good villain but I wanted to see this alien in action. So I opted to make her as scary as fuck and more active in Shit List. 
> 
> For Vincent I hope no one kills me for giving him his turk haircut back. You would think that with all the fighting he does he would have opted for something shorter that wouldn't get in his face. 
> 
> Again thanks to everyone that writes FFVII and Sefikura and stuff (Boomchick and her fiancee especially they are like GODS at this kind of stuff). Also thanks go out to my beta, Amber, for beta'ing this and for becoming my deviant partner in crime in the narrative sciences. We could go on for hours about this... and I'm not sorry for getting you back into this.
> 
> Last thanks goes out to Square Enix for creating the damn game that we all love. 
> 
> Chapter 2 will be out soon!


End file.
